Jun 22, 2016

Members of the House of
Representatives have called for restructuring of the Presidential Niger Delta
Amnesty Programme put in place by former President Musa Yaradu’a in June 2009.
Leading debate on the general principles of a Bill which seeks for the
restructuring on Tuesday, June 21, 2016, Hon. Oluwole Oke asserted that the
Bill seeks the rehabilitation and reintegration of the Programme for proper
implementation; adding that better articulation and organization of the
Programme to serve the purpose of disarming, re-educating and reintegrating the
ex-militants into the society without fear of them constituting a threat to the
general public is cogent and in order.

He stated that the
Programme has not been effective because it lacked a clear cut guidelines for
implementation, and also of the view that promulgating a legal framework for
the Programme would underpin its relevance and sustainability. On his part,
Hon. Ossai Nicholas Ossai posited that the amnesty Programme came as a result
of the outcry and yearning of the people of the region and the government of
that time reasonably responded to particularly mitigate the challenges faced by
the Deltans. He believes it is about time, the National Assembly charted a
better and more focused structured Programme for easy implementation and
access. With his submission and that of other members, the Bill scaled
seconding reading and referred to the Committee on Niger Delta Development
Commission (NDDC).

In another development,
the House has unanimously passed a resolution urging President Muhammed Buhari
to prevail upon the Attorney General of the Federation and other members of the
National Executive Council to conduct themselves in line with the Constitution
and have some respect for the principle of separation of powers. On the heels
of a motion of urgent public importance moved by Hon. T. J. Yusuf, the House
also urged the Executive Council to shun the proposed prosecution of the
principal officers of the Senate.

He cited the case of Kogi
State Assembly and continuous decline of invitations of legislative Committees
by Ministers as clear demonstration of disrespect for the National Assembly. He
cautions that if the move is not checked, the nation's democracy could be
threatened. He appealed to the legislators to braze up to safeguard the
nation's democratic institutions as well as protect the independence and integrity
of the National Assembly.